OUTLOOK

It’s the matchup the county has been waiting for since these two had their regular season meeting washed out by rain April 21. This season has been a bit of a mirror image of last year, when both teams were upset in the semifinals as top seeds but went on to win sectional championships. This season, both teams were ousted short of repeating, but instead have chances to redeem themselves with a Memorial Day win.
Both sides come in scuffling a bit offensively. South Plainfield has been held to a single run in four straight games, but has won three of them thanks to the stellar pitching of DiDolce. It’s a similar story for Bishop Ahr, which hung 14 runs on J.P. Stevens in last Wednesday’s quarterfinals, but was shut out for the first time all season Thursday against Notre Dame in states. Gomez has been doing the heavy lifting in the circle, though junior Becky Hilliard gives them a trusted second option.
Offensively, both teams are anchored by upperclassmen. Martin, Muglia have had big hands in the few runs the Tigers have scored of late, while Curcio and Velasquez have teamed with rookie Elvina to give the Trojans a formidable heart of the order in this tournament.

About Mike New

Mike New is former writer at the Home News Tribune, having covered Middlesex County softball in 2009 and 2010. A 2008 graduate of Rutgers University, he served as sports editor and managing editor of The Daily Targum. Now an assistant in the publishing world, he has returned to In the Paint and will be a weekly contributor on Sundays.

Blogroll

About the Authors

Mike BeckerMike Becker is a graduate of Rutgers University. He has been working at the Home News Tribune since the spring of 2011. During his time at Rutgers, he covered the school's football, and both the men's and women's basketball teams, for WRSU-FM.E-mail Mike

Simeon PincusA graduate of Kean University, Simeon Pincus has been covering NJ sports since 1997, including softball at the Courier News since 1999 and girls soccer since 2001. He began covering CN girls basketball in 2013-14E-mail Simeon